Pima Sheriff Gets MD530

The Pima County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona has taken delivery of its first helicopter, a previously owned MD530. It is not, however, the department’s first aircraft. The agency already owns a fleet of airplanes that it uses for airborne surveillance. It operates one Cessna 310, a Cessna 210, and a pair of HT 420 Helio Couriers for high altitude surveillance throughout its 9,241 sq mi jurisdiction and especially along the 123-mi border it shares with Mexico. According to Sgt. Rick Pearson, the aviation unit’s supervisor and one of its pilots, the helicopter will be used for occasional observation duties and to insert deputies in “particular areas.” The helicopter, which had previously been owned by another police department and a private operator, will be equipped with forward-looking infrared and a moving map system.